Process of making substitutes for animal wool.



GANDIDO CHAVEZ, OF MEXICO, MEXICO. I

PROCESS OF MAKING SUBSTITUTES FOR ANIMAL WOOL.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1914.

Application filed 20, 1913. Serial No. 768,755.

To all whom it may concern:

-Be it known that I, CANDLDQ CHAVEZ, a citizen of the- United Mexican States, re siding at Mexico city, Federal District, Mexico, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Substi tutes for Animal Wool, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved process of making substitutes. for animal wool, which process embodies the following successive steps.

The fibers of old bags made of jute, malva, hemp, maguey, ixtle, etc., as Well as of old worn out carpets, or of other waste products of a like character, after having been mixed are thoroughly washed with water in order to remove therefrom all foreign matter. The mixture is next subjected to a bath of caustic soda of 4 B., rinsed and then transferred to a bath of chlorid of lime at 6 13., from which it is transferred without rinsing to a bath composed of sulfuric acid and bisulfite of soda at 5 B. After the fiber has remained submerged from three to four hours in each bath, a basic bath composed of a solution of sulfuric acid and bisulfite of soda at 3 B. is prepared and heated to the boiling point, and the fiber allowed to re-. main submerged therein for two hours boiling constantly. It is then transferred to a bath composed of an absolutely cold solution of caustic soda at 20 13., a suflicient quantity of ice being used for this purpose.

By the sudden change of temperature, the mercerization'of the fiber is. produced, the fiber acquiring considerable brilliancy and strength," and in order to complete the mercerizing operation and to give the fiber the necessary whiteness it must be placed in a bath composed of a solution of chlorid of lime at 6 B. for two hours, and in a final composed of sulfuric acid and bisulfite of soda at 3 B. for one hour. The fiber is then dried thoroughly and, in order to give it the exact appearance of wool, it is finally loosened and well combed by means of crushing and mixing devices.

By means of the foregoing process, a product is obtained which is absolutely free from foreign matter, such as particles of wood and other impurities, and which has the smoothness and feel of animal wool and, even, of silk; wherefore it may be applied in the manufacture of spun and woven goods, either just as it is, or after it has been mixed with a certain proportion of natural wool or silk, for the purpose of giving it a better appearance. 1

The product may be used for the manufacturing of mattresses, with the advantage over certain materials employed for the purpose, that it remains absolutely disinfected.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

The process of making substitutes for animal wool, which consists in soaking waste fiber in water to remove all foreign matter; successively submerging the fiber in baths of caustic soda at 4 13., chlorid of lime at 6 13., and sulfuric acid and bisulfite of soda at 5 B., the fiber remaining in each bath from three to four hours, submerging the fiber in a constantly boiling basic bath of sulfuric acid and bisulfite of sodium at 3 B., and then in an absolutely cold solution of 

